Uh-Oh!

There is a dollar or two in the Japanese sewer system.

Today while I was flushing...
a dollar (or two dollars?) fell out of my back pocket.

opps!

I stood there staring at the money...

in the toilet. 

awww Man! 

Thankfully, it wasn't a $20!!

Hows that for looking on the bright side??

This week is exercise week on base. 

What does that mean?

Grown men get to play war for a few days. 

Only its serious stuff. Super stressful for the airmen. 

[The Hubby and I have been on complete opposite schedules. He works from 5pm-5/6 am. Thank goodness he returns to days so we can resume our positions as the 5th and 6th judges on American Idol.]

But....

I found a way to make chemical warfare gear fabulous:

Add a pretty scarf and waist-cinching belt! 

How about I submit this into the Air Force for new uniform considerations?? 

Is it Friday yet?? 

The Itch

I'm going to expand on the subtopic from yesterday about my itch to take care of something.
I have gotten a lot of comments/emails/messages about it.

So let me clarify.
I'm not having the baby itch. I do not want to get pregnant and I am not ready to take care of a child.

I do however have the itch to expand our family to include
a pet.  

A dog, more precisely.

I've had dreams about my dog, the same way my mother did with our dogs...

Strange? maybe. 

We have to wait. Currently, we are living under a signed contract that forbid furballs. Despite the fact that people clearly have pets in this building we decided to wait until our next assignment. So we will wait. By next summer though we will have a puppy (atleast that is my hope!).

So - no worries (my dear family and bloggers) I am not preparing myself for an upcoming pregnancy.
I am, however, watching a lot of dog whisperer so I can be the best pack leader ever!

Hiatus

Hello! I took a very unexpected (but much needed) hiatus from not only my blog(s) but from other means of electronic communication.

I haven't been around here in blog land or facebook land or e-mail land. 

I've been busy with reality land. 

(or just reality.)

So first thing is first: 

Giveaway Winner is......

Jessie @ What You Wish For

Woo Hoo! Congrats!

[Check your inbox for an address request!]

Since I've taken some time off lets recap:

-I rearranged our living room - unexpectedly & I moved our brand new expensive TV by myself. The Hubby just about had a heart attack when he came home..... It sort of made me feel like I could do ANYTHING!

-Some holiday paper plates CANNOT be used in the microwave. We set our microwave on fire. Yikes!

-I've learned how to function on the energy gained solely from caffeine...Can you say quadruple espresso???

-I have the itch to take care of something and I really don't want it to be a baby, so we are ready for a puppy!

-I'm missing NY like crazy... and I have looked up tickets to go home just about everyday this week. (yea... in my dreams...)

-I've found out what love language the Hubby speaks and how I can learn to speak his dialect!

-I'm planning my brother's trip to Japan in a few months & it will mark the very first time my brothers and I travel without parental buffers. Should be fun, yet interesting....

-I flourish when I have a busy schedule (please ignore the fact that I dropped the ball on blogging...) - I realize that I'm most alert, I remember the most, and I function the best when I know when and where I have to be....

-After a financial aid meltdown, I just found out that I'll finish my degree next summer with minimal student loans!

Okay.. I could really go on and on and on... but I'll save those for some good blogs...

Movie Critic Friday will be back up and running this upcoming week.... I've watched some good ones (and some not-so good ones)!

 

I'm happy to be back to blogging. 

please don't hate me....

Updated Bathroom

First: Don't forget about the Giveaways here @ Sometimes Life is Messy & here @ my new blog Fit & Fabulous.You can enter the giveaway up to Thursday @ midnight (EST).

__________________________________________________

When I was buying after we got married I had a general idea of how I wanted to decorate. 

In the bathroom, I wanted a crisp & clean looking area. 

White and Blues. That's what I wanted - so that's what I got: 

 What the heck was I thinking!?!

The Hubby is in maintenance. 

You should SEE his hands after work. 

Greasy. Black. Disgusting. 

So: 2 years later & much wiser: 

 The darker blue rug hides any dark spots from his dirty boots. 

The darker shower curtain is perfect for hiding more of the grime coming off of his hands. 

Siggghhh. 

You live and learn.

Have a Great Week!

Giveaway

Hello!!

The time has come for my big surprise (which is actually a reveal). 

I have started a year-long journey to get in shape.  

Wanna join me??

yea??

Well -You Can!! 

I started a new blog!

Fit & Fabulous 

(A Bi-Cultural Quest to Get in Shape).

I wanted to do a giveaway @ my 100th post. 

I wanted to do a giveaway @ my 100th follower. 

BUT: 

They both came and went. 

SO:

In light of this new blog and new journey.. 

I'm doing a DOUBLE giveaway!!! 

Giveaway #1 is here. On this Blog. 

The prize?? 

Japanese Pottery!! 

(I've gotten my hands on a beautiful sake set)

How do you enter to win??

1. Leave me a post letting me know you are a reader (or loyal follower!) (entry #1). 

(Please leave an email address!)

2. Blog about my giveaway (#1 and #2) then leave a comment letting me know (entry #2). 

If you are a new reader (WELCOME!)

You can get in on the giveaway too!

Become a new follower and leave me a comment letting me know! (entry #3)

That is 3 chances to win!!! 

Don't forget Giveaway #2 is happening at the new blog!

I can't wait to see who wins! 

Giveaway opportunity ends on Thursday @ Midnight (EST).

Movie Critic Friday

Did you miss out on the start of these posts? 
No worries - check it out here.  
First Movie Critic Friday: Julie & Julia 
Last week:  District 9

This week: 

Disney-Pixar's

Up

Lets get to the ratings... I give this movie 8 out of 10 balloons. 

 

(too predictable??)

How about 3 out of 4 creepy talking dog collars. 

 Overall: This movie was cute, cute, cute! 

I'm positive that most everyone has seen this movie, so I'll spare you a plot summary. 

But, this is definitely a movie worth having in your collection. 

I could watch it again!

(Maybe on a rainy day!)

The characters were really lovable. 

How could you not love Russell, the Wilderness Explorer! 

And the relationship between the little explorer and Fredrickson is really darling. 

(Who doesn't know someone like Fredrickson? I can think of a few old men in my hometown that are very set in their ways but you love them because of it!)

The first 15 minutes are sad. 

I mean tear-jerker sad. 

But the ending (and the rest of the movie) makes up for it. 

 To sum everything up this movie is:

heart-warming. 

Buy It. 

Lost & Found

I'm still working on getting things in order for my big surprise!

Things have been a little crazy around here lately.

In the mean time...
feast your eyes on these beauties...
long-lost pictures from film & disposable cameras that we JUST got developed!

I would say 80% of the pictures I developed were too dark and grainy (hallelujah digital cameras!), but these 3 photos made up for all the bad ones.

Spring 2006

This is me and my mom. 

Not the best picture for either of us. 

BUT: This is the day that The Hubby and I started talking on the phone!!

Just before we started hiking, I had my first text message and then phone call with my future husband!

It's funny because I remember it very clearly!

(Do you remember your first phone call with your significant other??)

-Don't tell The Hubby, but I was SO nervous!-

Then skip a few months and you have this: 

 

 Maybe early Summer 2006

Did these two people know they were in love?

Were they even thinking that they would be married (!!) the following year?

  

All I can think of is how YOUNG we look (and were!)!! 

[we still are]

Now look at us:

 kidding. kidding. 

here's a better one:

We are growing up and old (well not yet!) together.

Keep hanging around here for my big reveal!!! 

Its going to be Ah-Mazing - you don't want to miss it! 

Movie Critic Friday

I Promise that I'm still working hard on my new surprise(s)!!! 

Hang in there, its going to be awesome!!! 

Below is a Movie Critic Friday review that has been written by my friend Tiffany. 

I know. 

I cheated. 

To be honest, when Tiffany was describing the movie... 

my first thought was, 

"I actually have to watching this!?!?"

and then my second thought (that I blurted out) was, 

"Could you do a guest post for me?!"

Tiffany is a huge fan of movies in general...

(She has the largest collection of movies I have ever seen!!)

So this movie review came naturally - oh and the fact that she is a writer helps! 

So enjoy today's review of (drum roll......):

District 9

__________________________________________________________

I can count on one hand the number of movies I’ve walked out of. (Okay, I’ve only actually walked out of one movie. The rest were DVDs that I just had to turn off.) Usually I’ll stick with a film to the end. But I have to say that in most cases, the ending never does make up for the rest of the movie and I leave wishing I’d “walked out.” Such was the case for District 9. It’s pretty much a stinker. And I even have a confirmation on this one. The other day I was at our local BX perusing the new DVDs. Two airmen came up to do the same and I got to witness the following conversation:

Airman 1 (pointing to the movie with his foot): That movie sucked! 

Airman 2: Dude, I know.

I couldn’t agree more, guys.

In case you’re curious about the story, here you go (if you’re not interested, I totally understand and please feel free to skip down a couple of paragraphs). District 9 tells the story of an alien ship that has stalled over Johannesburg, South Africa, in the 1980s. The government decides to investigate the ship and there they find a race of aliens who are sick, starving, and in need of a place to live. So the South African government sets them up in a location deemed District 9--I know, I was asking the same question: what the...why? Over the next 20 years, the area falls into overwhelming disrepair and the government decides to move the however-many-million aliens to a new place cleverly titled District 10. But first, bureaucratic officials have to serve eviction notices to all the alien households.

So, the eviction crew is headed up by this guy who’s a total toolbox trying to advance his government career and impress his father-in-law boss. He and his team go into District 9 where some stuff happens and the guy gets hit in the face with some kind of alien goo. Fast forward to that night (believe me when I say, I wish I would have), the guy gets really sick and goes to the hospital. It’s soon discovered he’s beginning to turn into one of the aliens.

The government now wants to pull the guy apart and do all kinds of tests on him. He escapes but has nowhere else to go but District 9. The rest of the movie is him trying to get the alien who poisoned him in the first place to change him back; the government trying to capture the guy before he completely transforms; and the scientific, goo-toting alien trying to get back to his ship.

The plot didn’t make a whole lot of sense, and the CG aliens just looked ridiculous. None of the characters (earthlings or aliens) were remotely relatable so I never really cared what happened to any of them--live, die, change into another life form, didn’t really matter. The whole thing is shot mostly in a documentary-style. It’s gritty, it’s shaky, it’s violent, it’s gross. I realize the story is far-fetched, but at no point did I ever feel compelled to just go with it. I just kept wondering why I was still watching. (The story on that one: by the time I started it, the movie was overdue and didn’t want to have to explain to my husband why I was late turning in a movie that I didn’t even watch.)

Basically, skip this one. I mean, even if someone you know rented it on their dime and offered to make you dinner, just walk away. Do something more fun with those couple of hours--hours that me, and those two airmen, can never get back.

If you’re looking for a good “aliens and government bureaucracy” movie, stick with Men In Black. 

Better yet rent ET and rediscover a classic. That’s my plan.

Happy movie watching!

Surprises [Coming Soon]

Hello Everyone.

I'm going to have a surprise for you...

very.

very..

soon!!!!


So hang in there while I get everything in order!